


What Are You Doing Here, Miss Queen?

by inlovewithimpossibility



Series: cerys' s8 episode codas [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe), F/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-12 04:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20975792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inlovewithimpossibility/pseuds/inlovewithimpossibility
Summary: Sara Lance prides herself on knowing people, she gets them in a way a lot of others struggle with. So when a mysterious blonde shows up to help with the fight of their lives, Sara is surprised when there's something about her that she just can't put her finger on. That is until she figures out that this supposed 'Green Arrow from another earth' is actually Oliver's time-displaced daughter.[Sara sees straight through Mia's Crisis disguise, confronts her about what she's doing in the past, and forces father and daughter into a conversation that is clear they needed to have]





	What Are You Doing Here, Miss Queen?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, so, this was inspired by a couple of twitter conversations had between myself, lexi (@lexiblackbriar), and abby (infinitecanvas) which you can find here (https://twitter.com/_infinitecanvas/status/1182216573790117888) and here (https://twitter.com/lexiblackbriar/status/1182221830117056513). Thanks to both of them for their wonderfully angst-filled ideas!  
Big warning: this was super emotional to write and I believe it reads that way too so just... be prepared? x

Sara’s not buying this.

There’s been something off about this blonde since she appeared with the Monitor a few hours ago. She’s shifty, with a determination beneath her eyes that’s a little too familiar for Sara to put her finger on. It’s clear that she’s holding something back, not wanting to share too much with the people around her as if she doesn’t trust the majority of them.

Then there’s the matter of her appearance.

Blonde hair isn’t much of a giveaway but there’s something in the way she holds herself and the way her mouth settles into a determined frown that is sparking some recognition within Sara.

Plus, there’s a very familiar quiver strapped to her back.

The exact same quiver that’s on the back of the man she gravitated towards as soon as she entered the room.

Truthfully, it’s Oliver’s reaction that has got Sara’s brain whirling.

The man is fidgety and whilst it might not seem it to the general eye, Sara knows him too well to not recognise the signs of when he’s hiding something. His fingers are fiddling at his side in what Sara knows is his tell for being nervous and there’s obvious emotion in his eyes that he’s attempting to hold back.

He’s not doing a very good job.

Even John can’t take his eyes off the small blonde, blinking disbelieving every few seconds.

The blonde, on her part, is a far better actress than Sara’s friends.

Sara’s been watching for a while, attempting to see a slip in her mask, but it’s been hard to notice anything. She’s been engaged in the conversation, adding her own thoughts about what their plan of attack should be. It’s obvious that she’s a skilled fighter, understanding attack at the same level that Sara herself does, and interestingly, she’s suggested a few techniques that sound remarkably familiar to ones Sara learnt in Nanda Parbat.

“I’ll stick with… Oliver, is it? Cover his six.” She speaks up and Sara frowns as something clicks in her head.

Everything she’s suggested up to this point, this girl has been attempting to protect Oliver himself. Sure, it’s been useful to the overall fight as well, but it’s suddenly becoming clear that the blonde is primarily focused on no harm coming to the man next to her.

Who _is _she?

“You really think we should put both our archers together? Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to spread skills around?” One of the _numerous _Supermen stood around the main console on the Waverider questions and Sara watches carefully as both Oliver and the blonde react viscerally to his words.

“No!” Oliver immediately cries, looking over at the blonde with an absolutely terrified expression on his face. He’s surprisingly concerned about a woman he claimed not to know a few hours ago, almost as if he’s unwilling to let her out of his sight during this fight.

“This is going to be the fight of our lives. Only an archer knows another archer. We need each other’s backs.” She speaks up, her voice suddenly thick with emotion. This clearly means a lot to her and that only confuses Sara further.

Until the blonde turns to look at Oliver with a shy smile. It’s tentative, but oh so familiar, and when Oliver gives her the _exact same smile _back, everything clicks together in Sara’s head.

This is Oliver’s _kid. _Sara can’t believe she didn’t see it before. They have the same nose and their stances are almost identical, not to mention the quivers suddenly making sense.

When Sara fully looks at the blonde properly now, however, she can’t believe she didn’t see the other thing. Because this girl is not only Oliver’s child, it’s now blatantly obvious to Sara that she’s also Felicity’s.

It wasn’t until the girl smiled that Sara could recognise the similarities between her and her genius friend but now, with her face turned towards a more positive disposition, the resemblance to Felicity is astonishing. Her chin slopes down in almost the exact same way and her eyes sparkle with that same light, even if the girl is doing a remarkably good job of hiding it. Her hair curls in a similar texture to her mother’s and, even if Sara knows that her friend’s blonde locks are a dye job, the colour is an absolute dead giveaway.

She kind of wants to beat herself over the head for not noticing it sooner.

The question is then, what is Oliver and Felicity’s daughter from the future doing here?

It’s only when Oliver catches her eye does Sara realise that her astonishment must be written all over her face. She flicks her gaze over to the girl and then back to Oliver, raising her eyebrow in silent question. The way in which his eyes widen in panic is enough of an answer in itself but the following desperate shake of his head tells Sara that this is something to keep her mouth shut about.

She can certainly do that, she thinks as she crosses her arms and answers Oliver with a smirk that she knows won’t diminish his fears.

Nothing would at this point.

Sara still has questions though. Oliver’s fierce want to watch over his daughter in this fight isn’t surprising but the girl’s determination to protect her father seems to run far deeper than just a child’s want to protect their parent.

It’s that question that has Sara following the blonde to a small, private room after the group disperses.

Sara watches her for a moment as she reaches into her suit for a necklace, clutching it tightly in her hand as she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. The ex-assassin capitalises on her moment of serenity to slip inside the room unnoticed.

“You know, if you’re trying to pass as someone you’re not, you might want to try not looking like a perfect mix of your mom and dad.” She speaks up, making the girl jump as she whirls around to face her. She immediately jumps into a defensive position but loosens her stance when she spots who it is.

“I… um… I don’t know what you mean.” She attempts to brush Sara off, pursing her lips. It’s funny to Sara that in every she’s doing to try and mask her identity, she’s just strengthening Sara’s belief in her mind.

“Oh, but you do. The question is, what are you doing here, Miss Queen?” The captain asks, leaning against the door casually as she studies the young girl’s reaction. She’s good, Sara will give her that. It’s clear she’s got some experience of being undercover but it’s the little tells that are unconvincing. The small details in which she’s just _so _much like her parents that her genetics are working against her best efforts.

“I’ve already told you. I’m the Green Arrow from Earth-35, though I tend to go by the code name Blackstar. My parents aren’t anyone you know and my last name is not Queen.” She speaks with a determination, giving Sara the exact same explanation she gave earlier and it’s in the repetitiveness of her statement that Sara can tell that it’s a story rather than her truth.

“That would be convincing if you weren’t clinging to your dad and walking around with what is essentially your mother’s face.” Sara states simply and when the girl’s mouth drops practically open, she knows that she’s got her.

“I don’t have my…!” She whirls around and then halfway through her sentence, appears to realise her mistake. She looks so much like Felicity when she catches herself in the middle of a babble that Sara cannot help but smile.

After all her time-travelling and everything Sara’s seen, she shouldn’t be as taken aback by this as she is, but this girl… there’s just something about her.

“I mean… you see, the thing is…” She tries again but it’s clear her mind has gone blank as she tries to think of an excuse. Her shoulders slump and she looks at Sara almost fearfully, as if she’s truly ashamed of having been caught out.

“Give it up, kid. You’re Oliver and Felicity’s daughter from the future, aren’t you?”

She slumps further as Sara speaks it aloud and the ex-assassin has to blink disbelievingly again when the girl turns to her with a soft expression that makes her heart pang with the memory of her old friend.

“How’d you know?” She questions quietly and Sara smirks, pushing up off the door and walking a little closer to the girl. She can’t be much older than twenty and Sara tries to figure out if maybe she’s already alive in this timeline. That would certainly explain Oliver’s entirely suspicious explanation of why his wife didn’t come to help with the tech side of things.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. You’re doing a remarkably good job of hiding it. I’ve known Ollie since I was a kid and Felicity’s one of my best friends and even I didn’t notice immediately which is truly remarkable considering how much you look like them both. It was when you smiled, you have the exact same smile as him.” Sara explains with a small smile and the girl’s face lights up.

“I do?” She asks and it’s entirely too sweet. Sara is surprised though, from what she’s seen of her, she thought that she was Oliver through and through in personality.

“Your mom hasn’t told you that?” She asks with a frown that only deepens when a look of pain crosses the girl’s face. Not wanting to cause her anymore, Sara quickly shifts the conversation back. “It was him too, he’s awfully emotional about it all.”

“You know he left her a few months ago? To do what the ‘universe required’?” The girl continues however in the same vein as Sara’s initial comment. It’s clear that something about it cut her deep. The way she scoffs and uses her fingers indicates that she truly doesn’t think much of what the universe needed her father to do. “I’m alive, now. Mom was pregnant when they left Star City. I’m about six months old right now.”

“No.”

Sara can’t say anything else. She just doesn’t have the words. For Oliver to have left not only his wife but his infant daughter as well…

“I’m Mia. Mia Smoak.” She finally introduces herself and Sara blinks as she tries to process all the information that little sentence grants her.

_Mia. _No wonder she’s not going by her name, it’s a dead giveaway of her relation to Oliver’s family for anyone who knows the archer. It’s basically a combination of his mother and sister’s names.

Smoak, however. That brings a far heavier realisation.

“He never came back,” Sara states fruitlessly and Mia nods, swallowing heavily. The older blonde can see the tears in the girl’s eyes. “Is he…?”

“The world thinks so. I don’t… I really don’t know. Mom always said he wasn’t, that he was out there somewhere, and they’d promised each other that they’d find each other again someday. For a while when I was a teenager, I worried that it was her way of coping with his death and that she’d invented a story in her head so that she didn’t actually have to deal with it.”

The way that Mia speaks about her mom makes Sara’s heart clench. There’s a warmth to her voice, it’s almost the same way that Oliver softens when he speaks about his wife. It’s clear that their connection runs deep and Mia’s concern for her mother is both warming and heartbreaking. Sara can’t imagine what her friend’s been through in Mia’s time. Even if Oliver is alive, she’s had to raise their child alone for twenty years and be reminded of him every single time she looks at Mia.

She’s always had an immense amount of respect for Felicity but it’s just risen about tenfold.

“And now?” Sara questions, curious to know what Mia thinks now.

“Last year she left too. She never said it explicitly but William and I are sure it was to go and find him. She may miss him but Mom’s too smart to do that if she didn’t have definite proof.” Mia tells her, growing more emotional. The idea of Mia having to say goodbye to her mother as well but knowing that it’s because she’ll finally find her peace…

Her poor friends. Sara can’t imagine the amount of pain their entire family has been through.

“She is.” Sara comments, replying to Mia’s acknowledgement of her mother’s intelligence because she doesn’t know what to say otherwise.

It’s clear that talking about it has made Mia emotional all over again and Sara feels terrible as she watches the young girl wipe a tear away from her face. It’s clear to Sara why she’s here now and despite her knowledge of what messing with a timeline can do, Sara’s not entirely sure that it’s not the best course of action.

“Mia?” The young girl jolts at the sound of her father’s voice and Sara spins to see Oliver in the doorway. He’s still looking at Mia as if he can’t believe that she’s real and Sara feels like she’s intruding as their eyes meet. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Fine.” Mia immediately covers, stepping back from Sara as Oliver steps properly into the room and closes the door behind him.

“Mia.” He insists in a voice that only a parent can and Mia huffs, shaking her head as she grows visibly agitated at his insistence.

“Seriously, D-dad, I’m fine.” She tries to tell him but the way that her voice catches on the name gives her away immediately.

“Hey, if you’re anything like your mother, and looking at you, I’m guessing that’s the case, I know that never means what I think it means,” Oliver tells her gently with all of the loving affection of a concerned parent. Sara hasn’t seen her old friend around his son much but she always imagined he’d make a good parent and he’s proving it to her right here and now.

Mia looks utterly lost and unsure of what to do and it shows when she looks over at Sara as if she’s hoping the other woman will throw her a lifeline.

_Sorry kid, not this time. _

“Tell him and tell him why you’re here whilst you’re at it,” Sara tells her and Mia’s shoulders slump at her words. Oliver’s brow furrows as he looks between the two of them.

“What? Sara? What does she mean, Mia?” He questions quickly, finally fixing his gaze on his daughter who takes a long and deep breath before she sets her shoulders determinedly once more.

“The Monitor, he wasn’t fully honest, um… he didn’t find me. I found him.” She speaks very matter of factly and Oliver blinks at the same time as Sara, no doubt thinking of the same thing.

Felicity.

“You found a cosmic being and forced him to answer your call?” Oliver questions, the disbelief evident in his voice and Mia frowns, tilting her head.

“Well, technically William found him from an old programme of Mom’s.” She explains further and Oliver stares at her for another moment before he sighs, shaking his head.

“Of course. Brilliant to the point of dangerous.” He states resignedly and Mia smirks.

“William or Mom?” She questions and Oliver looks at her, matching her smirk with a shake of his head.

“Both of them by the sounds of it.” He answers, the affection sneaking into his voice and that same tone is clear in Mia’s response as well.

“Yeah.”

“So, you wanted to come here, to be involved in this fight?” Oliver questions, looking at his daughter with a completely different kind of disbelief. Before it was emotional and loving. Now, he’s obviously scared. “Mia, do you know how reckless that is? This isn’t some small fight on the streets of Star City…”

Sara winces. Mia hasn’t told her much about her time but judging from the fact that she’s here, Sara suspects it’s not just her and her family that is missing the Green Arrow.

“You don’t know what the streets of Star City are like where I’m from!” Mia immediately rebuffs, something obviously having triggered within her. Oliver is taken aback by the sudden ferocity of her tone and Sara watches as it clicks in his head too.

“Okay… okay… wait, you’re not just here to fight, are you?” He asks and Mia doesn’t answer, just sets her jaw determinedly. It’s clear to Sara that she’s not going to be swayed in this.

“No, she’s not.” Sara finally answers for her, earning herself a glare from Mia, as if she’s just betrayed her.

“You’re going to change things.” Oliver states and Mia takes a deep breath before she nods. Oliver sighs, running a hand over his forehead. “Mia, messing with time is insanely dangerous. You might wipe yourself out of existence or worse! It always has consequences that you can’t see or undo. It’s a last resort.”

“This _was_ a last resort! I had to try something, Dad! You don’t know what it’s like where I’m from!” Mia cries, her voice catching on her last statement and Oliver’s fierce concern melts into a soft expression as he looks at her with affection.

“I will one day, Mia.” He tells her, as if he’s hoping to remind her, but Sara knows Mia’s tale and she knows that his words will have the adverse effect on the girl who’s known so much pain.

“No, you won’t. This doesn’t end the way you think it does Dad. It’s just me and Mom for twenty years. Hell, I was twenty years old before I even found out that I have a brother! I grew up without _half _of my family, Dad, and if I can do something to change that, then for heaven’s sake, I’m going to try.”

Mia’s words come fast and hard, a fiery resolution underpinning her words. There’s a brief moment of regret when she takes in that absolutely heartbroken expression that covers her father’s face as he listens to her words.

Sara’s not sure she’s ever seen Oliver so heartbroken. She doubts Oliver’s not aware of this possible outcome of what he’s planning to do but thinking of actions and being faced with the real-life consequences of those actions are two very different things entirely. This Mia is the result of Oliver’s sacrifice and whilst Sara knows it’s not a decision he will have come to lightly, she can’t help but hope it might sway him slightly.

“You… I… Mia…” He stutters, obviously completely taken aback and unsure of what to say. Mia just scoffs and shakes her head, melting back underneath that mask once more.

“No, don’t even. It’s fine.” Mia states as she takes a deep breath and wipes her tears away. If Sara wasn’t herself tearing up at the obvious heartbreak that about to befall upon her friends and their family, she’d take a moment to wonder which of her parent’s Mia got her stubbornness from, seeing as it’s something they’re both plagued with. Instead, Sara watches Oliver, heartbreak marring his face as his grown daughter starts to walk towards the exit. She wills him to stop her, glaring at him, and it takes him a minute but he does finally spring into action.

“Mia, you don’t get to walk away from this conversation.” He tells her as he catches her wrist and stops her from moving any further.

“Let me go.” She states simply, sticking her chin out in determination but Oliver just shakes his head as he gently tugs her back towards him.

“No, sweetheart, you need to hear this.” He tells her and there’s so much emotion wrapped up in that term of endearment that it makes Sara’s tears threaten to fall over the edge so she can only imagine how poor Mia’s coping with it.

“You think I can’t put on you on the ground?” Mia asks him, her teeth clenched as she fights to keep her emotions in. Her eyes are swimming with tears and they only worsen as Oliver levels her with a loving look.

“I have no doubt you can but you’re not going to.” He states surely and Mia raises her eyebrow even as her shoulders lose some of their tension.

“You sure about that?” She questions as she relaxes fully, making a smile cross Oliver’s face.

“Yup.” He tells her with a nod. A sob wrangles its way through Mia’s throat as he reaches up with his other hand and gently tucks a piece of her loose hair behind her ear. His touch is gentle, feather-light, and yet it’s clear that it’s all Mia needed to send her over the edge from emotional to full-on sobbing. “Mia, if it comes to a decision between my life and saving the universe, I’m always going to choose the universe. Do you know why?”

Oliver’s crying too now as he speaks, looking at his daughter with all of his emotions on the line. Sara’s only ever seen him be this open with one other person and it’s the one whose DNA makes up the other half of the girl standing in front of him.

“Because you’re a stupid hero who can’t do anything but make stupid hero decisions?” The girl asks through her tears and her words have both Sara and Oliver chuckling, although the latter is in a far more serious tone.

“No. Because your brother’s a part of the universe, your mother’s a part of the universe, Mia, _you’re_ a part of the universe. If I let the universe collapse, I risk losing all of you and that’s not a risk I’m willing to take.” He explains to her with a soft smile and it’s clear to Sara in that moment that even being faced with Mia isn’t going to change his decision. He’s a hero, through and through, and if there’s anything he can do to save his family, Sara knows that he has to try.

“But what’s the point? I don’t get to have you anyway.” Mia questions, sounding far younger than her years. She clearly can’t see Oliver’s thinking as Sara can, not that the captain can blame her. Sara herself has grappled with the idea of going back and changing both her sister and father’s deaths too many times to count.

It’s so much harder when it’s the people that you love.

“Because this way there’s still a _you,_” Oliver explains with that same soft smile and Sara’s tears finally spill over the edge as he lifts his hand to gently cup her face. It’s something she remembers watching him do with Felicity in the Foundry what feels like a lifetime ago and Oliver’s expression is so gentle as he looks at his daughter, both of them crying heavily. “Baby, I am so sorry but even knowing that I don’t get to see you grow up, I wouldn’t change the decision I’m going to make. Making sure that you have a chance to grow up is far more important to me.”

“I hate it. I hate it so much.” Mia tells him through her sobs and Oliver nods, blinking his own tears away fruitlessly.

“I know. I hate it too.” He tells her and Sara feels a sob of her own threaten to escape as he moves to fiercely hug his daughter to his chest. Mia freezes for a moment at the obviously unfamiliar embrace but in seconds, she’s gripping him back just as tightly. “I love you so much, baby girl, you know that, right?”

He speaks into her hair and Mia nods into his chest. They’re wrapped as tightly around each other as they can be and if it weren’t for Mia’s bright blonde hair, Sara would struggle to know where one begins and one ends in all of the leather.

“Mom told me, every day.” Mia relays and a smile spreads across Oliver’s face.

“She kept her promise then.” He speaks with a warm affection that is practically synonymous with Felicity’s name at this point.

“Did you doubt she would?” Mia asks, tilting her head to look up at him.

“Of course not!” Oliver cries as if offended at the idea and Sara chuckles. It amuses Mia as well and there’s no way for Sara to describe the way that Oliver’s entire being just lights up at the sound of her small laugh and the sight of her smile. It’s as if it’s all he’s been waiting to see and hear his entire life long.

“It’s nice to hear it from you though,” Mia whispers as she tucks herself back into his chest. Oliver catches Sara’s eye over her head and she smiles at her lifelong friend through her tears, trying to convey that she knows how much this moment means to him. He manages a small smile back before his attention returns fully to his daughter in his arms.

“Mia… you, your brother, and your mother, you’re _everything _to me. Never forget that. I love you so much, baby girl.” He tells her and his voice is full of fire and determination. It’s clear how important it is to him that she knows how much she means to him, especially knowing that he won’t get the chance to say it soon.

“I love you too, Daddy,” Mia answers, burrowing impossibly further into his chest. Sara wipes her tears, smiling at the sight of them before she slips out of the room to give them some privacy.

Later, when they’re preparing for the fight of their lives, Sara pulls Mia to the side once more.

“If things don’t go your way, find me after. There are things worth risking the timeline for.”

Oliver Queen has given so much for her, the city she used to call home, and the entire universe. Sara thinks perhaps it’s time the universe gave a little back.


End file.
